Former White House counsel John Dean, who served under Richard Nixon's presidency, had some advice for Donald Trump ahead of his first day on the stand in the New York court on Monday.
Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta on Sunday, Dean, explained that the amount of trouble that Trump can make for himself is "infinite."
It's "not only what he says, but the way he says it is going to play out in this testimony," said Dean. "What he says is going to affect the judge and how he deals with the case. As you said, he's already found liability. They're really looking at the other counts and potential damages that could be assessed against the Trump Organization."
Dean was referencing one of the six counts that the Trump Org. has already been found responsible for. The result of that charge will likely end the family's company in New York and block them from further real estate in the state. The other charges will reveal how much of a fine that the Trump Org. will be responsible for paying.
"So, his testimony can influence that," Dean said. "But also the theater of it and the way he handles himself is going to have a political impact. People don't like witnesses who try to get nasty with judges. Maybe a few hard-right radicals might, but the general public does not. So, I think he's got to behave himself as well tomorrow."
Acosta, who clashed with Trump and his White House several times over the four years they were in office, said that it isn't likely that Trump will "behave." It prompted him to ask Dean what happens if Trump lies under oath and if he could be prosecuted for it.
"He certainly could be, and it would be a question of how far out he goes, how far he reaches, how disported he gets," said Dean. "And Letitia Kames, the attorney general who brought this civil action — and it could have been brought as a criminal action, but she decided to proceed in a civil matter. She can certainly initiate a perjury charge against anybody who does perjure themselves in the civil case. These are rare, but Trump creates the rarities, if you will. And if he gets way out on a limb and fabricates beyond belief, I think she might bring him up short and let him know."
See the conversation in the video below or at the link here.
'People don't like witnesses who try to get nasty with judges': Ex-GOP lawyer tells Trump www.youtube.com
